Mourning and Misogyny: Hamlet, The Revenger's Tragedy, and the Final Progress of Elizabeth I, 1600-1607

Author: Steven Mullaney
Source: Shakespeare Quarterly, Summer, 1994, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 139-162
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2871215

In 1597, ANDRÉ HURAULT, SIEUR DE MAISSE and Ambassador Extraordinary from Henri IV observed the prevailing attitude towards Queen Elizabeth: despite professed love among the populace, the nobility showed resentment, claiming that "the English would never again submit to the rule of a woman.”
Elizabeth's death on March 24, 1603, brought mixed reactions; festive bonfires and cries of "We have a king!" signified a desire for a male sovereign.
- This transition marked a significant change, described as a reincorporation and regendering of the monarchy, rather than a mere continuation of existing power dynamics.
The queen's death revealed complicated feelings of grief, as political misogynism resurfaced strongly in the last years of her reign.
- The idealization of Elizabeth as a capable sovereign emerged gradually during the reign of James I, leading to a complex cultural revision surrounding her legacy.
- Christopher Haigh notes that Elizabeth transitioned from a political figure to a figure of mourning and loss, examined here in relation to both Elizabeth and the cultural impact of her death.

Mullaney proposes a connection between mourning and misogyny: male mourning can often appear intertwined with misogynistic sentiments, especially upon the passing of a female sovereign.
Human emotions, particularly in the Renaissance context, were not devoid of cultural and historical construction, making the intersection of mourning and misogyny worth exploring.
Emotions analyzed vary between public expressions versus private grieving, with public displays of mourning often noted to be less common, while misogynistic remarks became prevalent within cultural expression.
The allure of Elizabeth and her legacy creates a rich field for exploring these complex emotions, especially given her pivotal role in the cultural imagination of the period.
Historical and cultural differences regarding grief and mourning complicate modern interpretations, as articulated by scholars like Lawrence Stone and Michael MacDonald.

The significant increase in misogynistic representations on the stage following Elizabeth's death aligns with the growing interest in processing cultural emotions related to her reign.
Theater, especially in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, served not merely to reflect social sentiment but was also a dynamic force in shaping discourse surrounding gender, power dynamics, and emotional expression.
The popular stage offered a unique medium for exploring the grief and misogyny associated with the death of Elizabeth, enabling a complex cultural narrative to unfold.
The emergence of revenge tragedy reflects the intertwining nature of personal loss with broader societal misogyny, often isolating these themes in studies rather than examining their interaction within Renaissance works.

The play explores the themes of grief and misogyny through Hamlet’s conflicted interactions with female characters, particularly Gertrude.
Hamlet’s longing for his deceased father is complicated by his disgust for Gertrude’s sexuality, indicating a wider thematic concern with female desire and emotional betrayal.
Much of Hamlet’s discourse on grief points to an internal struggle where his mourning is overshadowed by an obsessive focus on female transgression.
Hamlet's famous soliloquy reflects his deep sorrow yet also expresses contempt for femininity: "Frailty, thy name is woman" (2.2.146).
- This animosity can be seen as a projection of his complex feelings towards both his mother and the concept of female sexuality generally.

Vindice’s portrayal in the play serves as a critique and reflection of the underlying misogyny within Elizabethan and Jacobean revenge narratives.
Vindice's mourning for his beloved involves a transmutation of her memory into a perverse erotic spectacle, evaluating women's bodies through a lens of male desire and vengeance.
Vindice’s critique of female sexuality leads to a dehumanization of women represented as sexually influenced objects, reflecting both a reaction to illicit desire and a projection of male anxieties regarding autonomy and power.
The character's eventual demise serves as an ironic commentary on the misogynistic trends established through their narrative, ultimately leading to the unraveling of male distinctions from the very femininity they endeavor to dominate.

Mullaney concludes that both plays reveal a complex intermingling of mourning and misogyny, with female characters serving dual roles as objects of grief and sources of male aggression.
This intersection highlights a fundamental contradiction within a patriarchal society where the expressions of loss provoked aggressive distaste toward the feminine, revealing a deeply rooted cultural anxiety surrounding female power and aging.
In representations of Elizabeth I, we discern a historical complexity where her legacy informs not just national identity but also reveals the societal undercurrents of misogyny embedded in the collective mourning for the sovereign.